Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication or Machine Type Communication (MTC) are terms that may be used to refer to data communication technologies that allow automated devices to communicate with one another without human intervention. For example, M2M and/or MTC may refer to communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information, and relay that information to a central server or application. A device used in this context may be referred to as an M2M device, MTC device, and/or an MTC user equipment (UE).
MTC devices may be used in a number of different applications to, for example, collect information or enable automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging. The market for MTC devices is expected to grow rapidly as industries such as automotive, security, healthcare, and fleet management employ MTC to increase productivity, manage costs, and/or expand customer services.
MTC devices may use a variety of wired and/or wireless communication technologies. For example, MTC devices may communicate with a network over various wireless cellular technologies and/or various wireless networking technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), etc.). MTC devices may also communicate with one another using various peer-to-peer technologies such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, and/or other ad-hoc or mesh network technologies. The expansion of multiple access wireless networks around the world has made it far easier for MTC communication to take place and has lessened the amount of power and time necessary for information to be communicated between machines. These networks also allow an array of new business opportunities and connections between consumers and producers in terms of the products being sold.
In some cases, MTC devices may be deployed in locations that make wireless communication difficult, such as in basements. There may be a need for coverage enhancements in some cases. Transmission time interval (TTI) bundling has been employed to achieve some coverage enhancement. However, broadcast channels, such as physical broadcast channels and system information transmissions, may also need coverage enhancement. Additionally, much of the system information that is generally transmitted over broadcast channels may not be needed for MTC operations. It therefore may be beneficial to provide an MTC physical broadcast channel and/or MTC-specific system information blocks that allow MTC devices to limit the amount of unnecessary information received. It may also be beneficial to increase the efficiency with which MTC devices anticipate and decode transmissions to identify changes in system information, and to determine whether to decode certain system information.